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Apparently, it isn\u2019t all laughs at The Tonight Show.<\/em> According to an expos\u00e9 from Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> 16 current and former staffers from The Tonight Show<\/em> alleged that host Jimmy Fallon<\/strong> created a toxic environment due to his \u201cerratic\u201d behavior.<\/p>\n All 16 staffers, which included two current and 14 former staffers, who spoke to Rolling Stone<\/em> requested anonymity when speaking to Rolling Stone<\/em> out of fear of retaliation. The staffers, who ranged from production crew members to office staffers to members of the writers room, allege that Fallon\u2019s mood was highly erratic, creating an \u201cugly environment behind the scenes,\u201d which trickled down to the show\u2019s constantly changing leadership. The Tonight Show<\/em> has had nine different showrunners since 2014. Staffers allege that the showrunners were unable to \u201csay no to Jimmy,\u201d and claim that some showrunners behaved toxically themselves. \u201cI just don\u2019t think they\u2019ve landed on a leader who can keep it together,\u201d said one former staffer. (Under the current showrunner, Chris Miller,<\/strong> who started in March 2022, sources say there have been no formal complaints.)<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bummer because it was my dream job,\u201d said another former employee. \u201cWriting for late night is a lot of people\u2019s dream jobs, and they\u2019re coming into this and it becomes a nightmare very quickly. It\u2019s sad that it\u2019s like that, especially knowing that it doesn\u2019t have to be that way.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rolling Stone<\/em> story, written by Krystie Lee Yanoldi,<\/strong> begins with an anecdote alleging that Fallon appeared drunk on the set of the show. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh, my God, he [seems] drunk on set,\u201d said an anonymous Tonight Show<\/em> employee. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s doing. This could be awful\u2014this could be the end of the show right here.\u201d Fallon denied a Page Six report<\/a> from 2016 that alleged that NBC executives were concerned about his \u201cout of control\u201d drinking. In a 2017 New York Times<\/em> profile<\/a>, he said, \u201cI could never do a day-to-day job if I was drinking every night. That\u2019s just kicking you when you\u2019re down.\u201d<\/p>\n The story goes on to allege that Fallon has \u201cgood Jimmy days\u201d and \u201cbad Jimmy days,\u201d where he’d allegedly \u201csnap at crew members, express irritation over the smallest of things, and berate and belittle staffers out of frustration.\u201d The staffers said that they used the phrase \u201cwe\u2019re up against it\u201d to warn each other when Fallon was allegedly having one of his bad days.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen something was wrong, we all knew how to behave afterward, which was just sort of avoid eye contact and don\u2019t make another mistake,\u201d said one former staffer. \u201cIt would happen over the smallest thing… We would have to shut the whole thing down, the sketch isn\u2019t happening, and when things like that would happen, you would just beat yourself up.\u201d<\/p>\n The Rolling Stone<\/em> story also includes an anecdote where Fallon allegedly yelled at a cue card holder while taping with guest Jerry Seinfeld,<\/strong> prompting Seinfeld to tell Fallon to apologize to the employee in front of his studio audience. However, Seinfeld sent a statement<\/a> to Rolling Stone<\/em> in defense of Fallon, calling the anecdote an \u201cidiotic twisting of events.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis is so stupid,\u201d said Seinfeld. \u201cI remember this moment quite well\u2026 I teased Jimmy about a flub, and we all had a fun laugh about how rarely Jimmy is thrown off. It was not uncomfortable at all. Jimmy and I still occasionally recall it and laugh. Idiotic twisting of events.\u201d<\/p>\n Tonight Show<\/em> staffers allege that Fallon\u2019s erratic behavior led \u201cto widespread fear\u201d at The<\/em> Tonight Show,<\/em> with one staffer saying that the host created \u201ca horrible environment for the people there.\u201d Due to the alleged toxic work environment and the often-changing leadership, some staffers said they suffered anxiety attacks, were put on antianxiety medication, and even experienced suicidal ideation. \u201cMentally, I was in the lowest place of my life. I didn\u2019t want to live anymore. I thought about taking my own life all the time,\u201d said one former employee. \u201cI knew deep down I would never actually do it, but in my head, I\u2019m like, \u2018Why do I think about this all the time?\u2019\u201d (Rolling Stone<\/em> mentions that while many Tonight Show<\/em> staffers they spoke to \u201cvoiced their concerns through HR complaints,\u201d problems at the show \u201cpersisted.\u201d)<\/p>\n A Saturday Night Live<\/em> veteran, Fallon left his post at NBC\u2019s Late Night<\/em> and began hosting The Tonight Show<\/em> in 2014. He did not respond to Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s request for comment. However a spokesperson for NBC released the following statement: \u201cWe are incredibly proud of The Tonight Show,<\/em> and providing a respectful working environment is a top priority. As in any workplace, we have had employees raise issues; those have been investigated and action has been taken where appropriate. As is always the case, we encourage employees who feel they have experienced or observed behavior inconsistent with our policies to report their concerns so that we may address them accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n